Lights
by taivasmeri
Summary: Oliver asks Felicity to share her holiday with him. Never did she think that it would lead to something more than friends-maybe-something-mores sharing something important to one of them.
1. In an unknown place

_So... hi everyone! I'm really bad at this whole notes and summary thing but here goes... first of all, the work title and this chapter's title are both from Ellie Golding's song called 'Lights'. This whole fic started forming in my mind when I thought how Felicity has mentioned a few times that she is Jewish and maybe I could write something to do with that fact. This is my first fic that I am publishing even though I've written some fics for just the pure fun of it that I haven't published. I don't have a beta yet so I apologize if you notice grammar errors while reading. If any of you who read this are Jewish, please tell me if I got something incorrectly, I'd really appreciate it. I wrote this based on what I remember of learning in my religion education's lessons and the blessing is straight from the Internet. Disclaimer: disclaimed_

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 1 - In an unknown place the only time I feel safe<strong>

Heavy footsteps echoed around the foundry. A man descended the stairs and froze on the last step. His eyes widened when he took the scene in.

A woman was reciting a blessing in front of a menorah.

"..._Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, she'heheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higi'anu la'z'man ha'ze_."

He stood there for a while until the woman finally noticed him.

"Felicity… What is this?"

"I'm glad that you asked, Oliver", she walked to him and smiled up at him. "_This_", Felicity said while gesturing the Arrow Cave - even though they definitely did not call their base of operations 'the Arrow Cave' - but still staring Oliver straight in the eye, "is what I decided to do. It was just so gloomy here and I wanted to bring some Christmas spirit here even though I am not a Christian myself but I thought that Roy and Diggle would appreciate it and… maybe you would too? I mean, it's okay if you don't like it, I can totally take the decorations down but I just… Why are you looking at me like that?"

Oliver just smiled at her. "It's okay… I like it. Just curious of when did you have time to put all this up by yourself and where did you even get all this stuff from?"

"Oh. Well, that's kinda funny story, see, I kinda may have asked Thea if she had any spare decorations for me to bring here and she had some and then she just decided to come here and help me decorate the whole place with what few items we found and…"

"_Breath_, Felicity. It's fine… Thea hasn't been here in a while…"

"I know, it was a little surprising to me too when she basically demanded to get to help me down here... And to answer your other question, we did this while you guys were patrolling out there. That leads me to the question of my own: where are Digg and Roy?"

"They'll be back soon, they just wanted to wait there until the SCPD came and took the bad guys with them."

"Okay, well, I have some at the moment not that urgent searches going on but I can leave them be and we could all go and have some dinner or something tonight?"

"Sure but first… It's the first day of Hanukkah, isn't it?" Oliver asked, a slight frown on his face.

He looked to the direction of where Felicity had been near her beloved computers, and noticed the menorah in the center of the table that was next to said computers, one candle already burning there.

"You lit it already?" he frowned again.

"Yeah. I thought that I would do it when I was alone… I mean, there really weren't that many decorations so Thea and I worked pretty fast and when she went upstairs to the club I lit the first candle and recited the prayers."

"So, that's what you were doing when I came back. You were reciting a blessing?"

"Yeah, I was. Even if I'm not the most observant Jewish person, I still do observe the major holy days."

"The part you were saying… what does it mean in English?" Oliver asked curiously.

Felicity looked Oliver straight in the eye for a moment with an expression he couldn't completely read. Then she looked at her hands, blowing a deep breath out before translating the words. "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King in the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season."

When she raised her gaze again, Felicity could see that Oliver was thinking pretty much the same that she was: they truly had a reason to be thankful of still being alive what with the lives they led.

"Can I be there with you tomorrow?" Oliver whispered, breaking the silence that surrounded them.

"Huh?"

"I mean, when you light the candles."

"Oh… You really want to be there with me?" Felicity asked, a slight look of wonder on her face.

"It's your holiday, of course I want to be there with you. You thought of us and decorated this place even if Christmas isn't your holiday. I just… I want to think of you too."

"Well then, you are coming with me back to my place tomorrow evening. Even though this place sometimes feels more like a home to me than my house does, I would still like to light tomorrow's candles home."

Oliver got a chance to smile to her and answer with a simple 'okay' before Diggle and Roy arrived, descenting the stairs looking tired but still having a smile on their faces.

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><p><em>This story's going to have seven chapters in total and I'm doing my best to update this every day. If you liked this little story of mine, please leave kudos andor comment. Constructive criticism is also appreciated._


	2. You show the lights

Summary: _Felicity tells Oliver about Hanukkah and it's a peaceful night for them both for once._

AN: _Second chapter, second night of Hanukkah. Thank you all for the follows and reviews and so on. It really means a lot to me to know that some people like this fic of mine especially 'cause I've been thinking of publishing a fic that I've written myself for two years already but I've been so unsure if my texts are good enough. Even though I'd love to read what you think of this fic, I can in a way also relate to the people who don't review but still will read the fanfic anyway. This chapter's title is again from Ellie Goulding's song 'Lights'._

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><p><strong>Lights ch.2 - You show the lights that stop me turn to stone<strong>

Once the sun came down on the second night of Hanukkah, Oliver was standing outside Felicity's house, knocking on her door. She opened the door with a small, nervous smile on her face and ushered him inside.

"Oh, good, you brought wine with you!"

"I did and Raisa made some latkes. She told me to ask you if they taste as they should so that she'd know what to change the next time if they aren't as they should be."

"I am sure that they will taste delicious. I mean, Raisa made them, there is no doubt of if they're okay or not, right?" Felicity stated, leading Oliver to her kitchen. "You can put them on the table, 'cause we are going to light the candles first and eat after that."

Oliver set down the bottle of wine and the container where the latkes were and then turned around to look at Felicity.

"So, shall we?" she asked, gesturing to the windowsill where Oliver could see a menorah and some candles on it.

He followed her to the menorah and waited quietly for her to indicate what would happen next.

After taking a deep breath Felicity took the lighter from the sill into her left hand and a candle into her right hand. "So what I am going to do is light three candles in total. This candle that I'm holding is called the _shamash_. It's the one going in the middle so it kinda stands from the other candles, being a little bit higher than the others. The shamash is used to light the other candles, so today I'm going to light two candles with it. Those two candles will be on the right side of the menorah and the candles are added from right to left."

"Like Hebrew is written?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, exactly. How did you know that?"

"I may have been a bit curious and also may have done some research. Just some little trivia, don't worry, you're going to get a chance to tell me the story in depth", he smiled shyly at her.

"Oh, okay", she answered before going back to explaining the tradition.

"So after I light the shamash, I will recite the blessings before lighting the other two candles. I'll say them in English as well so that you know too what I'm saying. After the blessings the candles are lit from left to right."

Felicity turned her head to look Oliver if he had any questions. He just smiled at her and nodded his head as a sign to go on and begin.

Felicity used the lighter to lit up the shamash. After putting down the lighter she held the shamash and began reciting the blessings.

"_Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu l'had'lik neir shel Chanukah_." Her singing-like voice changed more into her normal voice when she began translating the blessing. "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the lights of Chanukkah."

"_Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh_." She took a breath before translating the second part. "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe Who performed miracle for our ancestors in those days at this time."

After saying the blessing, Felicity lit the candles starting from left and then lighting the one on the far right. At last, she put the shamash to its place.

When it was all done, they just stood there for a while, watching the candles burn and the flames of them flicker slightly. A few snowflakes fell down silently outside onto the paved ground and the front yard's grass.

In the end it was Felicity who bumped her shoulder onto Oliver's and broke the silence but she still for some reason whispered instead of talking on a normal volume. "So now we can go and have some of that delicious wine you brought as well as those latkes. I have some sufganiot I've got stored too."

Oliver turned his head to look at her. "Sufganiot?"

"They are these absolutely fantastic fried donuts." she explained.

"It's good to learn something new, hmm?" he smirked, grabbing her hand in his, starting toward the kitchen.

"If I pour the wine to the glasses will you take the food out of the fridge?"

It was a couple of hours later when they were laying on her couch that Felicity realized that it had been a first night in a long time that had been peaceful and quite. There had been no Arrow business or late night work stuff to do. She voiced her realization out loud to Oliver and snuggled deeper into his side, happy and content to just be there with him.

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><p><em>Thank you for reading. I write this fic as I go, meaning that I'll write tomorrow's chapter tomorrow (if that makes any sense). So if you guys have any wishes for what you'd like to see in this fic, message me either here, ao3, or on tumblr. I'm taivasmeri at all those three websites. Or if you just want to come and chat with me of something (for example: Arrow's s3 midseason finale ohmygosh) find me on tumblr.<em>


	3. You shine it when I'm alone

Summary: _If the night before had been quiet and peaceful, the third night of Hanukkah was hectic. Also, Felicity is getting confused with Oliver being hot then cold then hot again._

AN: Thank you for follows etc. Even though you don't necessarily have to review, I'd like to know what people think of this story because otherwise I have no idea if you like it or not. The chapter title's once again from Ellie Goulding's 'Lights' (yeah, I know, I'm getting predictable which is not good...) and let's face it, the rest of the chapters will probably be named after the song's lines as well... This chapter's longer and I'd like to think that it's better than ch 1 and 2 too; I'm starting to get a hang of this writing and then actually posting it thing and I needed to write something like this after watching Arrow's s3 midseason finale again 'cause it aired tonight here where I live. Tomorrow's chapter may be up later at night 'cause I have evening school thing but I'll write the chapter down in the afternoon so that I can post it right after I get home. But enough of my babbling, I present you tonight's chapter.

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 3 - You shine it when I'm alone<strong>

If the night before had been quiet and peaceful, the third night of Hanukkah was hectic.

Felicity had gone straight to the foundry from work, leaving early from Palmer Technologies when her phone pinged to sign a search result. Ray was nowhere around when she walked from her office to the elevators and she had to admit to herself that she was glad to not have to explain to him why she was leaving work so early.

When she arrived to the Arrow cave, Oliver and Roy were already waiting for her there. They were training but the moment they heard her footsteps echoing in the space they stopped their hand-to-hand fight and looked at her expectantly. Felicity absentmindedly noted to herself that Oliver seemed to be smiling more than usual nowadays.

"Hi guys, I came as fast and soon as possible… wait, no, that sounded wrong… nevermind just pretend that I didn't say it like that even though it is true. Is Digg home? I remember him saying few days ago something about Lyla going to one of ARGUS' top secret hush-hush missions, wouldn't blame him for being with Sara and just taking the night off", Felicity rambled while heading straight to her precious computers.

"Yes, Diggle called and said that he would be taking the night off. If Roy and I aren't on a brink of death, there's no need to call him in. I'm sure we can manage without him for one night, he's deserved some rest and bonding time with Sara."

"No but seriously the baby's got him all wrapped up around her tiny little finger already and she can't even reach the kitchen's counter yet." Roy piped in from where he was standing a little left from Oliver.

"Roy Harper, don't even try to pretend that you aren't as much under her spell as the rest of us are. I mean, seriously, even Oliver can't pretend to not want to carry her around on his shoulders these days." Felicity scolded him playfully.

"Yeah, you're right, Blondie. But seriously though, we can handle whatever it is that made your computers beep like hell for a while."

Felicity sat down in her chair and focused on typing fast and taking in all the information the computers were giving her.

"Alright. I gotta run some more searches and it's gonna take a while 'cause I am not going to send you two on the streets running around like a couple of headless Christmas chickens when the information I got is flimsy like this. And for the love of Google, I hope you have refilled the coffee stash, Roy because I haven't eaten nor had any coffee in the last seven or so hours and if I do not get coffee as soon as possible I will kill someone and I am going to start from you."

Roy looked sheepish for a fleeting moment before offering a bribe of some kind. "Big Belly Burger okay? I can go for a food run and bring you some in exchange for not killing me in the near future?"

Felicity didn't even raise her gaze from the screens, typing like a hurricane, while answering to Roy. "Fine. Get me my food and I'll consider it."

Roy thought it would be best for him to just leave it at that and to not start negotiating with her when she was already so obviously busy and sucked into the world of ones and zeroes. He grabbed his hoodie and left quickly.

Moments later Felicity felt a hand she recognized as Oliver's shaking her shoulder gently.

"You were focused on your searches and lost the sense of time again, didn't you?"

Now it was Felicity's turn to look sheepish. "I think I did. It's time for me to light the candles, isn't it?"

Oliver just nodded, taking both of her hands in his and raising her from the chair onto her feet. They moved to the table were her menorah was waiting. After putting three candles onto their appropriate places she took the lighter again onto her left hand and the shamash onto her right hand.

Right before lighting the shamash she felt Oliver bumping gently her shoulder, wrapping his hand around her waist so that they were standing right next to each other. Felicity felt her cheeks getting hot and she didn't dare to turn her head to see what kind of expression Oliver had on his face at that moment. But it wasn't the right time to delve on whatever was even going on between them. Honestly, the whole 'hot then cold then hot again' thing was pretty confusing to her.

She decided to ignore the warm hand on her waist and the comforting feeling of Oliver's thumb rubbing a slow circle there for the moment and focus on lighting the candles and reciting the blessings.

She lit the shamash, repeated the same blessings as the day before but this time she didn't feel the need to translate the words in English. She had a feeling that Oliver might have memorised the translations after leaving her place last night. She lit the three candles, one after another and then placed the shamash on its place.

They stood there again in silence, her computers humming quietly on the background and the music from the club above thumping through the otherwise silent space muffled by the steel walls and ceiling.

And just like the day before, it was Oliver who broke the silence, once again whispering. This time the difference was that Felicity could feel his warm breath on her neck when he whispered the words into her ear, lips slightly grazing it with every word that came out of his mouth. "The blessing you were saying the day before yesterday… you didn't recite it yesterday nor today. Why?" He didn't sound malicious, just curious.

Felicity swallowed before answering to him. "The third blessing is recited only on the first night, that's why I haven't recited it after Tuesday."

The elapsed back to silence, Felicity letting herself to lean more on Oliver and Oliver continuing to rub a circle on her waist.

"Sorry it took me so long to get back, there was a horde of teenagers that couldn't decide what to order but I'm back and the searches aren't done, right? Because you didn't text me and you probably wouldn't send Oliver ou there by himself…" Roy stomped down the stairs, getting silent when he saw who he had dubbed in his head as the team's 'mom' and 'dad' standing in a companionable silence.

"I totally ruined some kinda weird moment you guys had going on, didn't I?" he said teasingly but his voice carried a hint of apologize in it.

Oliver scowled at him, walked to him, took the bag containing their greasy treats from him and walked back to Felicity.

"I am going to make you some coffee, you're going to start eating and then we're going to check those searches, okay?"

"Yup. Just give me my food and I will be happy." she answered, making grabby hands toward the bag.

Oliver chuckled, gave her the bag and went to the small kitchen corner to make some coffee for all three of them because he had a feeling that the night would be long and they would need the caffeine to stay sharp. But if the night was long, it didn't matter to him in the end because he hadn't had to be alone and he had had a chance to share a quiet moment with the woman he loved.

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><p>Thanks for reading, leave a reviewfollow/you know the deal before continuing to other fics. My tumblr ask box is open, leave a message if you wander there. (Also, still no beta so there might have been some grammar errors and repeating, sorry)


	4. A strength I need to push me

Summary: _"Shabbat is tomorrow, I am going to cook which happens once in a blue moon and you are all invited. You should know my address by know. Be there at 4.00 p.m. -Felicity" Team Arrow goes to Felicity on the fourth night of Hanukkah to have dinner. Also, Roy makes a bet..._

AN: _Hi, once again, even if I am repeating myself, thank you for continuing on reading this story. It means a lot to me. Thank you sakura-blossom62 for reviewing after every chapter, I am happy that you have liked the story so far:) And all you others who have followed & so on, thank you too! This chapter has more characters in it, I hope I did them all justice equally. If they are a bit ooc, I sinceriously apologize. I've tried my best and read the text through several times before posting but there's always the chance of going blind on one's own text... And let's just state it once and for all that from now on 'till the last chapter the titles are going to be from Ellie Golding's Lights 'cause I'm just so predictable like that... sorry..? My Christmas holiday begins tomorrow so I'm thinking of writing a one-shot and post it in a few days... let's see if I have time what with having to study for my matriculation exams which are just getting closer and closer.. But hey, you're most surely already bored with my personal crap so just go on and read today's chapter:)_

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 4 - The strength I need to push me<strong>

"Shabbat is tomorrow, I am going to cook which happens once in a blue moon and you are all invited. You should know my address by know. Be there at 4.00 p.m. -Felicity" The text message had been sent to the whole Team Arrow, including Laurel, Thea and Lyla. The message was clear: be there or miss it and hear all about it afterwards from all the others. It was also clear that they would all arrive and that they wouldn't dare to be late fearing Felicity's disappointed and at the same time passive-aggressive expression.

On the fourth night of Hanukkah, Felicity hurried to open the door when the doorbell rang. The sun hadn't begun to set yet and the snow was silently falling outside the windows. She opened the door without checking through the peephole who it was.

She was met with an enormous bouquet of colorful flowers.

"Hi, Roy!" she said, grinning widely when the man in question lowered the flowers down so that he could look at Felicity with an expression of wonder.

"How did you know that it was me?"

"The red hoodie and jeans were enough for me to recognize that it was you, dummy. Now, give me the pretty flowers you either illegally borrowed from some poor florists shop or used your last allowance to buy for me", she said, rolling her eyes at the man who surprisingly had arrived first of the whole group.

Roy handed the bouquet over to her, his expression now showing a hint of annoyance when he muttered his come back. "I didn't steal them and I don't have an allowance, Blondie. I'm a grown ass man, _I shoot people almost nightly_, for God's sake."

"Now now, honey, no need to get so defensive there", she mocked and put the flowers into a vase she had filled with water. She put the vase on the center of her dining table and gestured Roy to go and lounge on her living room couch. Roy obeyed and basically jumped on the couch.

The next ones to arrive were Lyla and Diggle, bringing baby Sara with them. Digg kissed Felicity's cheek, moving Sara in his arms so that she wouldn't get squished in between them. Lyla hugged the other woman straight after and then looked around. It was her first time in Felicity's home.

Digg greeted Roy by dumping the large bag containing all the stuff that Sara may need while they were there, straight on his stomach making Roy let out an involuntary 'oomf' sound and glaring at the older man indignantly.

"Really? Did you _really_ have to do that?"

"Just assuring myself that Felicity hadn't killed you, 'cause you were looking like a corpse lying there, man." Digg shot back.

"I am hurt, John. Do you really think so little of me that I would leave forensic evidence lying around just like that?" Felicity feigned a hurt expression.

"No, you wouldn't but you would ask me to help you move the body, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, you can put Sara's playpen on the living room floor so that she can get comfortable there. We're still waiting for Oliver and Thea to arrive but they should be here soon, Oliver knows that I wasn't kidding when I threatened him with bodily harm if he arrived tonight late...er than usual. Laurel texted me just before Roy rang the doorbell that she was stuck at DA's office and wouldn't make it but she's the only one who isn't able to come tonight."

Digg started to go through the bag and quickly put the playpen on the ground. Meanwhile Roy and Lyla had been chatting and right when Felicity turned her attention to them, Roy hold out his hands to Lyla. Felicity realized that he wanted to hold Sara in his arms.

When Lyla transitioned her daughter from her arms to Roy's arms, the sleeping child didn't make any noise aside from the tiny snuffle when she got more comfortable in her makeshift uncle's arms. Roy just stared at the tiny human being for a while, Lyla watching beside him, correcting his arms to hold the girl better. Then, suddenly Roy just started to whisper to the girl and rock her slightly.

Thankfully Oliver knocked on her door, just like the last time he came at her place so the tiny girl currently sound asleep in Roy's arms was able to stay asleep.

She opened the door and smiled at the siblings standing on the other side of the threshold. "Well hello there! Please keep the volume down, everyone's here already and Digg and Lyla brought Sara with them and she's sleeping. Oh my gosh you brought wine again, you shouldn't have. I mean, you should… I mean it's okay, you didn't have to but, yeah, I am going to stop right there, three, two, one. Okay, come on in, we were just waiting for you to arrive."

Roy and Diggle exchanged looks of slight confusion, Roy mouthing '_again_?' to Digg, that went unnoticed by everyone else but Lyla.

Oliver walked straight into her kitchen and placed the bottle of wine on the counter.

Felicity divided her attention from Oliver to Thea and noticed how her eyes tracked Roy who was still in the tiny bubble that included only him and Sara. It seemed like he hadn't even noticed Thea and Oliver's arrival and just rocked the girl and whispered non-sense to her even though she was still sleeping.

"He looks kinda adorable, doesn't he?" Felicity said out loud, startling Thea from her thoughts.

"Yeah, he kinda does", the younger woman admitted before catching up with what she had just said. "I mean, just objectively saying, he seems to be comfortable…"

"I know what you meant", Felicity cut in, a small smile playing on her lips. Then she said with a louder voice, directing her words to Roy even though she stood where she was, next to Thea. "Roy Harper, the great baby whisperer. Who would have thought?"

Roy just looked up and smirked at her, noticing Thea standing there next to her but not giving the fact more than a glance. "Yeah, yeah, mock me all you want, Blondie. You're just jealous that she likes me more."

"Like hell she does, I'm her favourite aunt." Felicity scoffed.

"You might be her favourite aunt but I am her favourite uncle." Roy fired straight back.

"Nope, that title goes to _me_. Diggle knows that she likes me the best, right?" Oliver quipped in the conversation, coming from the kitchen and joining others.

"Don't you drag me into this one, man. I'm staying outta this." Digg said amusedly, holding his hands up.

"Well, it's true anyway. Now give me the baby, you've had your time holding her, it's my turn to get to hold my favourite niece." Oliver told Roy, holding his hands out impatiently.

Roy sighed but gave up the fight when he realized that he had pretty much lost the battle of wills.

Oliver cradled Sara close to him, glanced up and saw Felicity staring them with a look of wonder and something he hoped he read correctly showing on her face.

"It's time already, right?" he asked, nodding his head toward the windowsill where the menorah was waiting.

"It actually is. Thanks for you showing up late as usual, it's just the right time for the candles to be lit. On Shabbat, the candles are lit earlier than other days of Hanukkah, before the sunset. The candles are a bit different from the usual ones, too, 'cause they have to last longer on Shabbat. I'll also lit the Shabbat candles tonight, after lighting the ones on menorah." she told her guests, heading to the sill.

All the others followed her, forming a circle of sorts around her, Oliver being closests to her, still holding Sara.

Felicity repeated the procedure that had become familiar to Oliver but tonight she also translated the blessings so that their friends could understand as well. She had added one more candle so that there was a total of four candles plus the shamash burning in the end.

As had become a custom for them they stayed quiet for a while. Then Felicity turned to address them all. "Because it's Shabbat, I'll light also the Shabbat candle which is set on the dining table. So we're going to go and get settled on the table now. After I've lit the Shabbat candle, we can begin the dinner."

They took their seats around the table. When everyone had settled, Felicity lit the candle. She extended her hands over the candle, draw them inwards three times in a circular motion and then covered her eyes.

"_Baruch a-ta A-do-nay Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-o-lam a-sher ki-di-sha-nu bi-mitz-vo-tav vi-tzi-va-noo li-had-leek ner shel Sha-bat ko-desh_. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy Shabbat." she recited, translated the words and then prayed for a little while in her mind.

She uncovered her eyes, gazed at the burning candle and greeted the others. "Shabbat shalom!" Then she gestured at the plated that had been covered. "Dig in and enjoy! I don't even remember when was the last time I cooked this much food to a dinner."

Everyone smiled and thanked her, starting to uncover the plates and pass on the food so that they could taste the traditional foods Felicity had prepared for the dinner. Felicity answered their questions of why she did something one way or another and told some trivia of lighting the Hanukkah and Shabbat candles in certain order. She also couldn't remember when she had had as much fun without fearing something to go wrong. And the whole time they were eating, drinking and laughing, Oliver and her hands and legs brushed each others and surprisingly shy smiles were exchanged.

Later in the evening when everyone had gone to their own homes, Roy sent a group message to Diggle, Lyla and Thea that read: "I'll bet twenty bucks that F&O will get together on the 2nd last night of Hanukkah."

He got back three messages. All of them read: "I'm in."

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><p><em>I had to do lots of Internet research for this chapter in a short time period so if there are any mistakes please tell me so that I can correct them. Or if you have anything else you'd like to share, please leave a review.:) see you guys tomorrow with another chapter.<em>


	5. The dark is too hard to beat

Summary: _Oliver surprises Felicity early in the morning and when the fifth night of Hanukkah arrives, they end up talking of the light that fights darkness all by itself._

AN: _Hi guys! Once again the chapter title's from 'Lights'. I'm a bit nervous posting this chapter 'cause I had to do tons of research again and I hope that I got the facts right. If not, please correct me. I am totally exhausted and basically fell asleep while proofreading this chapter so yeah, I hope there aren't too many errors there. (There's also a possibility that I'll add something to this chapter later on but it won't change anything in the story.)_

_bellapaige88 asked in her review if the candles burn through the whole Hanukkah or if they are put out. If I've understood correctly, the standard candles which are used on other nights of Hanukkah except for the one falling on the same day as Shabbat, burn only for about 30 minutes. The ones used on Shabbat burn for longer: 1,5-2 hours. During the Hanukkah, 44 candles in total are burned because you have to use new candles each night. I hope this helped.:)_

_Also to the Guest who reviewed ch.4: Thank you for your kind words, I try to do my best to get the facts straight 'cause it's important for me to make this fic as believable as possible and I really don't want to disrespect anyone with this piece of fiction. I am happy that you like this story:)_

_Now, on with the story._

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><p><strong>Lights ch.5 - (And I'm not sleeping now) The dark is too hard to beat<strong>

The next day, Felicity was woken up by her cell phone vibrating on her bedside table. She grabbed it and narrowed her eyes against the bright light illuminating from the screen.

She had a message from Oliver asking her to come and open the door.

She pulled a robe over her tank top and shorts and rushed to the frontdoor.

"Oliver, do you have _any_ idea at all what time it is? Of course you do, you've probably been awake for hours already but I was still sleeping because it is _Saturday_, Oliver, and on Saturday people tend to sleep longer than on weekdays." she ranted.

"Oh, sorry, I thought that Sunday was the oversleeping day", Oliver said before bending down to kiss her on the cheek.

Then he straightened up and walked with long strides past her and plopped down on her couch. "So I have some Blu-Rays in my bag that I thought that I'd like to watch with you. You can choose whatever you'd like to watch from those."

"What?" Felicity was still frozen on her place, her cheeks warm after the cheek kiss. '_A freaking cheek kiss, get a grip, Felicity_.'

"Movies, Felicity. I would like to spend my Saturday on your couch, watching movies with you and eat something unhealthy. Did I forget to mention that I brought mint choc chip ice cream too?"

"You most definitely did, you should have begun the whole thing with informing me about that. I haven't even _seen_ a cup of coffee yet. On other thought, why don't you go and make us some while I choose which movies are good for the movie education I am going to put you through. I hope you brought The Guardians Of The Galaxy 'cause I haven't had a chance to get to see it yet, one of the downsides of having two jobs", she said with a grin on her face, clapping her hands twice.

And so they ended up having a lazy day, watching a movie after a movie and eating snacks. Oliver asked questions and Felicity tried to answer them as best as she could. It was quite fun.

Somewhere around the second and third movie Felicity ended up having her head on Oliver's lap and Oliver immediately sneaked his hands into her hair, pulling it from its ponytail and started to play with her tresses. It felt nice and comfortable and there was no immediate reason for calling Oliver out on playing with her hair so Felicity just decided to let the situation be as it was. Why break the calm atmosphere by making a big deal out of it?

"You know… the wine you brought with you yesterday is going to a good use tonight." Felicity said without looking away from the TV screen.

"How so?"

"The Havdalah - what separates Shabbat from the weekdays - is at nightfall, I'll used the wine in making it."

When the night fell, they were standing in front of the braided Havdalah candle, a spice container and a cup full of wine. Felicity took the cup into the cupped fingers of her right hand and with her other hand she lit the Havdalah candle. She said the introduction to the Havdalah in Hebrew and then repeated it in English. After the introduction she raised the hand holding the cup of wine and recited the blessing on the wine. Following the blessing of the wine, Felicity raised the spice container and smelled the spices and then recited the blessing on them. She set down the cup to recite the blessing that basically thanked for the lights of fire that God created to the people. She lifted her fingertips, looked at the flame and enjoyed it. Next it was time for the _havadalah_ itself. Felicity recited the blessing defining the separation of the holy from the everyday. Last she drank the wine and put out the Havdalah candle.

"Now we can light the Hanukkah candles", she said to Oliver, taking his hand and proceeding to the windowsill.

She repeated the process of lighting the Hanukkah candles, lighting the shamash, reciting the blessings and in the end lighting five candles. They stood in silence as they had without using any words decided.

"You know, the fifth night of Hanukkah is called the 'darkest night'." Felicity whispered, gazing outside the window where it was again snowing, a few stars twinkling in the dark blue sky. She took Oliver's hand in hers again and squeezed it. "It's because it's the only night that can never fall on Shabbat. On the fifth night the light from the menorah, especially the fifth candle, has to fight the darkness all by itself."

"That kinda reminds me of someone I like to think I know well."

"Who might that be?"

"My best friend. You might know her too. She has blonde hair even though she's apparently dyed it also black with some purple highlights, she is the smartest human being I know and also the kindest but she is _terrifying_ when someone tries to hurt someone important to her."

"She sounds like some kind of wonder woman."

"She really is, no doubt there." Oliver whispered in her ear, squeezing her hand.

"You remember when you said that you're glad that I went through whatever experiences I had to go through 'cause they shaped me into the person I am today?"

Oliver nodded and waited for Felicity to continue.

"Well, I want you to know that I am glad, even though it sounds pretty horrible to say so, that you went through, too, whatever you had to, to shape you into the person you are today. And you know how I feel about him."

Oliver couldn't help but stare at her for a long while, but when he finally recovered, he crushed Felicity into a bone crushing hug, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you", he whispered with a hoarse voice.

They stayed like that until Felicity screeched (even though her voice was muffled by Oliver's jumper). "Who told you that I had a goth phase once upon a time?! No, wait, no need to tell me, I know _exactly_ who did it and I am going to put my _dear_ mother on the No Fly list!"

Oliver couldn't help but laugh, holding Felicity just a bit tighter and longer in his arms.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading, leave a comment etc. on your way to other fics. See you guys tomorrow with a brand new chapter!<em>


	6. And dreaming when they're gone

Summary: _Felicity wakes up for an unknown reason in the wee hours of morning, Oliver has bad dreams and they both are left with wondering if it would be time to take the next step - together._

AN: _Hi everyone! Thank you so much for continuing reading and reviewing etc. Two chapters left... wow, time really has gone fast. Once again the chapter title is from 'Lights'._

_I apologize for the shortness of this chapter and possible errors (proofreading was done really fast). I have some personal issues in real life right now and that may affect the length of the following two chapters as well. I am truly sorry but I don't have any control on the situation so... I am probably going to have to revisit this story later on and add in the chapters 'cause I'd really like to make this story as good as possible, for my own as you guys' sake. Tomorrow's chapter is quite surely going to be up in the morning/early afternoon (my time) and depending on how much time I have tomorrow, I'll post the last chapter on Monday right after the seventh chapter or if not, then the last chapter will hopefully be up on the Christmas Eve's morning (again, my time, so to some of you guys it's either afternoon or night then)_

_But enough with my personal crap, go on and read the chapter, that's why you probably are here.:)_

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 6 - And dreaming when they're gone<strong>

Oliver ended up staying the night at her place. He insisted on sleeping on the couch and said that he had slept in worse places even though his feet dangled over the arm of the couch when he lied there. Felicity on her part insisted in getting him a pillow and a blanket at least: "You are my guest, Oliver Queen, it would be rude of me to not make you as comfortable as possible."

They said goodnight's wishes after midnight when they had drank their teas in the kitchen, both going to their own rooms: Oliver just a few steps to the living room and Felicity into her bedroom.

It was the wee hours of morning when Felicity suddenly woke up with a startle. She had no idea why she had woken up and decided to tiptoe to the kitchen to drink a glass of water.

When she was near the couch she realized that Oliver was having a nightmare. He mumbled words she couldn't make out and trashed around. She remembered Oliver saying once that he shouldn't be woken up with a touch or he would react badly. That's why she started calling his name, first whispering it but when it didn't help, Felicity moved around the couch and kneeled near Oliver so that she would be the first thing he saw when he finally woke up.

"Oliver!" she shouted and was thankful when it finally made Oliver snap out from the hands of whatever awful things he had been dreaming of.

He looked around wildly but then focused on Felicity. "F'licity", he mumbled sleepily and raised a hand. He touched her face with the palm of his left hand and Felicity reacted automatically to the surprisingly gentle touch, raising her own hand and placing it on top of his on her cheek.

"It's okay, Oliver. You're okay. I'm here, you're at my place. You were having a nightmare."

"No… I wasn't. It was a memory… or more like _memories_", he stated, his voice rough from sleep.

Felicity stayed quiet for a while, rubbing a slow circle on the back of his hand, trying to offer him some comfort. "Your mother?"

"Yeah… And Tommy and Sara. It could have been worse, honestly."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm okay, now that you're here. And I've gotten used to having nightmares over the last few years. What time is it anyway?"

Felicity turned to look at the wall clock. "It's ten minutes past four."

"I'm surprised that even got to sleep this long. Usually, if I'm lucky, I get three hours of sleep a night. My subconsciousness must have known that I was here, that it was safe." he smiled the half smile she had grown to love. Honestly, that half smile was just one of many on the long list of things that made her fall in love with him.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked, not really expecting him to answer her with anything else that wasn't 'No, I'm okay but thanks anyway.'

"You know that I don't really want to but the right thing to do would be to tell someone about that dream, right?"

"It's your decision, Oliver. I can't make it for you. But, you should know that whatever you want to do, I'll be fine with it."

"It's just that… I miss them. I miss them all so much and sometimes I don't know how they all died and I'm still here, alive, when I shouldn't be and… _it's not fair_, Felicity, it just doesn't make any sense. How can I…"

"Oliver. Oliver, listen to me! You have to breath. Here, look at me." When Oliver continued to ramble, Felicity grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye. "I said, _look at me_. Now, breath. In… and then out." She breathed in a sedate pace and when Oliver finally calmed down she smoothed the hand that had grabbed his chin down his neck and rested it on his shoulder.

"Better?"

"Better", he answered.

"I know that you miss them all, seriously, I'd be worried if you didn't, but don't you _ever again_ dare to say that you shouldn't be alive, Oliver Queen. Your mom gave her life to save you and Thea, just like your father did on that lifeboat and Tommy died saving Laurel. Sara lived and died as a hero, always remember that. They all loved and were loved in return just like you are. _Do you understand_?" Felicity's eyes burned with fire and Oliver realized that she wouldn't take no for an answer so he just nodded.

"Good. Now, why don't we go and drink some water, it should help even little."

The Sunday morning and day were spent cuddling on Felicity's couch, neither of them saying anything of it. Oliver needed to be close to someone and Felicity was glad to help any way she could. They watched the rest of the movies Oliver had brought with him the day before in a tranquil atmosphere. Before they knew, the time for lighting the candles had come.

Felicity lit the shamash and recited the appropriate blessings followed by lighting six candles. The difference between the day before's and that Sunday's scene was that on Sunday, Oliver stood behind Felicity the whole time, his arms wrapped around her middle, his chin resting on her shoulder.

Oliver's warm breath tickled Felicity slightly and she let out an involuntary shiver that made Oliver smile that specific smile of his that she had dubbed as his 'Felicity smile'. She had never seen him smiling like that to anyone else but her.

"_Thank you_ for your help this morning. I… I'm really glad that you were there."

"You would have done the same for me."

"Yeah, I really would have." Oliver sighed.

Both of them watched the dark sky slowly filling with stars. They both also wondered if it would finally be the right time to take the leap of faith - together, hand in hand. When they had each other, even the unknown couldn't terrify them.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading, see you guys again later!<em>


	7. The queen has been overthrown

Summary: _Felicity receives a surprising gift that changes everything._

AN: _Hi guys! Thank you so much for continuing reading and reviewing etc. The second last chapter, we're almost there ohmygosh. Once again the chapter title is from 'Lights'._

_Can we also ignore that I majorly screwed up the time line and pretend that season four happens this year? (I'm using this year's days of Hanukkah and noticed it today... dammit, sometimes I feel like I'm really stupid and now is one of those times.) I am truly sorry for this._

_Oh look, I said I'd update this in the afternoon... and it's middle of the freaking night here. Yeah, so my plans changed and I was dragged to the neighbour town for Christmas shopping and I spent there the whole afternoon. But I got some brand new DVD boxes out of that deal so yay! And after that I was forced (yes,_ forced _'cause I suck at everything to do with cooking and baking) to spend the evening baking for Christmas Eve and Day... next thing I know, I was watching a movie with my dad and brother and then a second movie and here I am, hours later, still awake and exhausted just wanting to get some sleep. But before I climb under my awfully warm blanket, I present you the seventh chapter of 'Lights'._

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 7 - The queen has been overthrown<strong>

It was getting late and Felicity was finally satisfied enough to start shutting down her computer system for the day. She looked up from the computer screen to just stare out of the window and enjoy the view. The sun was still up and lighting the sky but it was definitely starting to set.

Felicity glanced to where her executive assistant was still sitting, typing up a hundred miles an hour, most certainly answering the last emails for the day. He definitely had earned that bonus he was going to receive on Christmas Eve.

Felicity went back to getting ready to leave work… just to go to her other job that sometimes felt more fun even if it was more dangerous as well.

She heard someone knocking on the glass door ('Seriously, what is wrong with wanting to have some privacy? Not that I'd be having sex here anytime soon in the near future but if I would, some day, it would be nice to know that people wouldn't see more than they wanted to… and I really gotta stop right there right now.') and without glancing up from organizing her papers to right piles on her desk to see who it was there she said: "I'm leaving, Jerry, I'm leaving but thanks for taking care of me, I appreciate your concern of my well being."

"I'm not Jerry but it is nice to hear that someone reminds you of healthy work hours."

Felicity's head snapped up immediately when she heard the voice that definitely did not belong to her executive assistant. "Ray. What are you doing here? I mean, not that you _couldn't_ be it is your name on the building but I mean here, as in my office?" She moved from behind her desk a few steps toward Ray.

Ray just smiled at her and walked so that he was standing right in front of her. The smile on his face made Felicity think of another smile. Another smile on another man's face that was so different and one that she really wanted to see at that moment.

"I came here to bring you this", he stated offering her a manila folder. "And to wish you Happy Hanukkah."

Felicity took the folder from Ray and stared at it in confusion. "Oh. Well, this could have waited until tomorrow, you know? It must not have been so urgent if you could wait and listen to me babble before you got to the point which I still do not know is what 'cause you actually didn't tell me anything besides you wanting to give me a folder full of what I suppose are papers."

"It actually is urgent, just read the papers through after I've left it's all explained there. I hope I'll see you someday again, Felicity Smoak. It has been a pleasure to get to work with you." Ray said with a sad smile before turning around and walking away.

'It _has_ been..'? What? And what the heck just happened?' Felicity stood, frozen on her place and utterly confused.

When Felicity finally recovered from the baffling encounter, she walked back to her desk and took a seat. She tossed the folder on her desk, pondering for a while what she should do. Finally she just decided to take a look of what was inside because she hated unsolved mysteries the most in the whole wide world.

She flipped the folder open and spread the papers on the desk. When she took a closer look, she realized that the papers weren't just any papers. They weren't even basic contracts. No, the papers mocking Felicity at that moment were informing her that the shares of Palmer Technologies' Starling City branch would be transferred from one Ray Palmer to her and she would become the new CEO, should she sign the papers. And if she signed the papers and became the CEO, she would also become the majority stockholder.

Suddenly Felicity felt an urge to throw up and ran as fast as she could in her high heels to the adjoining bathroom.

A moment spent to flushing her mouth off the awful taste left there after puking her guts out and another spent to collecting herself together, she walked out of the bathroom and was met with Jerry's worried gaze. She went back to sit behind her desk and Jerry followed her there.

"I'm fine. I just got a little surprised by this all", she reassured him, gesturing to the papers still lying on her desk.

"If you don't mind me asking… what _are_ these?" he asked timidly and nodded toward the papers.

"These are contracts saying that I am the new CEO of this company if I sign the papers."

Jerry stared at her for a long while and then suddenly went and hugged her quickly.

"Congratulations! You deserve this and you will be good at this whole CEOing", he said warmly. "Just… _please don't fire me_", he joked.

"Nah, you're not getting rid of me that easily", she winked at him goodnaturedly.

She noticed a piece of paper folded in half amongst the contracts and took it in her hand to read it. '_Felicity Smoak. Thank you for these one and a half years I have gotten to work with you and brainstorm with you to create something brilliant. I have come to a conclusion after thinking for a while. I am leaving back to my home city and I decided to leave this branch of the company to your more than capable hands. You are free to do whatever you choose to do with it if you decide to sign the papers that came in this folder. -Ray_'

Setting down the paper she took a pen in her hand. All the correct places she had to sign were marked with Post-It notes, next to Ray's signatures and print names. After scribbling her name on the final line she stared at it for ten seconds, letting the whole thing truly sink in. She was a CEO. She owned a company now (well, not yet, but after the entire thing was official then she would). And she knew exactly what she would do as her first act as a newly appointed chief executive officer.

"Jerry, I'd appreciate it a lot if you didn't feed the office's rumour mill with this. I need to go through with this until it's officially official and then meet with someone trust worthy from PR and come up with an announcement and _oh gosh_, I have to call my mother and she will want to come here and make sure that I am sure with this whole thing and what the heck am I even doing, seriously… and I'm babbling again. Sorry. But, the point is that I need to settle things first and I'd like it very much if this didn't leak before I'm ready to make an announcement", she sighed and put the papers back into the folder and then the folder into her bag. Slinging the bag on her shoulder she turned to Jerry again.

"Yes, of course I won't tell them. I know how horrible the gossips here can be. Your secret is safe with me", he assured, nodding his head.

"Thank you. Now, it's seriously time for us to get out of here. I'm sure you have something better to do than answer my email, those can wait until tomorrow." She steered him out of the office and waited for him to shut his computer system and grab his things. They walked to the elevators and parted their ways in the lobby.

During the whole evening Felicity was absent-minded and she had to be called several times before she reacted. Oliver was worried and just wanted to know what was going on in her mind.

Oliver considered asking her if something was wrong after she lit her menorah just before he, Roy and Digg were going to leave for patrol but in the end he settled for holding her in his arms just like he did the night before.

When the boys stomped down the stairs, going straight away to put their equipment to the right places, Oliver noticed Felicity going through some papers, mumbling quietly by herself. After changing into street clothes he went to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

She startled and looked up, relieved to see that it had been Oliver who scared her.

"Please don't do that, Oliver. You know that my blood pressure is already elevated thanks to the bunch of idiots risking their lives night after night. I really _don't need_ to get frightened by something like that as well."

"Felicity… what's going on? You've been distracted the whole evening, I'm starting to get worried." Oliver whispered, rubbing her shoulder gently.

Felicity turned her chair so that she faced Oliver. She noticed Roy and Digg watching the silently from the other end of the lair, giving them enough space for them to have an illusion of being by themselves but still close enough to hear every word being said.

She sighed and reached to take the papers from her desk. She closed her eyes, gathering strength before raising her head and looking Oliver straight in the eye.

"Ray came by my office tonight right before I was leaving work." She saw how a muscle in the corner of his eye twitched and his hand on her shoulder tightened before easing and going back to rubbing it. She smiled at him, reassuring him that nothing had really happened… well nothing he was probably picturing in that stupid head of his.

"He came to bring me a folder and wish me happy Hanukkah. After wishing to see me again sometime in the future he left."

Oliver was confused and clearly looked like he wanted her to elaborate.

"Remember when he bought the company and became a majority stockholder? Sorry, that was insensitive of me, of course you remember, you were there." Felicity looked away and back and tried not to smile at Oliver's brooding expression.

"So anyway, I went back to my desk, opened the holder and scattered the papers around the desk. And… I got the second biggest surprise this year."

She paused and smiled at him, offering him the papers. Oliver took them, a questioning look on his face. While Oliver skimmed the contracts, Felicity threw a smirk Roy and Diggle's way and then waited for Oliver to be done with reading.

When he finally raised his head, he stared Felicity without saying a word. Thousand emotions were crossing his face, one after another. Confusion, wonder, love.

"He… You… This… _Really_?"

"I know that you're not a man of many words but this must be a record even for you. But yes, you are staring at the freshly appointed majority stockholder and _ipso facto_ the CEO."

When it seemed like Oliver wouldn't be recovering from his frozen state anytime soon, Digg and Roy came near them to offer their congratulations.

"We'll talk tomorrow", Digg said, nodding his head at Oliver's direction, silently letting Felicity know that she should talk to Oliver. He nudged Roy toward the stairs and after Felicity and Oliver were alone in the foundry she went to stand right in front of Oliver.

Before she could get a word out of her mouth, Oliver's lips descended on hers. She reacted instinctively, pulling him closer, twining her hands behind his neck, scraping her nails down it. Oliver's hands were combing her hair and adjusting her head to a better angle. Lips, teeth and tongues battled and they were both out of breath but it didn't feel like a big issue when they had denied each other being so close for so long.

After minutes of kissing, they separated but still were forehead to forehead, breathing heavily, sharing their breath.

"You deserve to be the CEO. You deserve to have whatever you want to have." He stroked her cheek that was flushed adorably. "I just want you to be happy."

"No more dangling maybes?"

"No more dangling maybes", he confirmed and then stated so that she wouldn't have any doubt of it: "I love you and I'm tired of denying us the chance of being together."

"You know, if you want me to have whatever I want and if you want me to be happy, one of the things I want that would make me happy is _you_."

"Yeah, I've been pretty stupid haven't I?"

"Mm-hmm. You are pretty and you have been really stupid. But you won't be really stupid if you just let go of your '_you deserve better than me_' mantra. You'll be just stupid 'cause let's face it, you're going to keep making stupid decisions in the field which leads to you being injured and me getting to play doctor with you once again", she smiled, patting his cheek twice.

"You can play doctor with me anytime you want", he whispered with a low voice in her ear.

"Oliver!" Felicity shouted but couldn't help but laugh.

It didn't take Oliver long to join her and the walls of the foundry echoed their laughter.

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><p><em>So did a Christmas Elf grant a wish or few or...? ;) Thanks for reading, see you guys again later!<em>


	8. And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

Summary: _On the last night of Hanukkah Felicity and Oliver exchange promises to each other._

AN: _Hi everyone! Wow, this is the eighth and final chapter... It's been busy eight days and I'm at the same time happy and sad to leave this story behind. This whole thing began last Monday when I decided to try and write +10k words just for the fun of it and set the deadline as 24th of December. I realized that it'd be the first day of Hanukkah on Tuesday and so I decided to challenge myself even more and I thought, what if I actually wrote down the fic that had forming in my mind already. And that's pretty much how this fic was born. (And additionally I reached the 10k words, yay. Even though I reached 50k last month when I participated in NaNoWriMo, it kinda sucked my soul out of my body and I wasn't feeling like writing for a while after November...) I'm not so satisfied with this chapter but I'm posting it before I drive myself mad fixing it even more.  
><em>

_(as a side note, I had to finally watch the TLOK series final 'cause I got spoiled on tumblr [my fault for even scrolling there in the first place] and ohmygosh, my OTP is canon now and I can't even, I am so happy, and that's the reason I'm posting this chapter so late.[it's 4:00 a.m. here so I'm almost asleep on top of my laptop]__)_

_Thank you, **kobie**, for reviewing last chapter. :) I'd like to thank everyone who has followed, favourited and/or reviewed this fic. *giant hug* I'd like give special thank yous to **sakura-blossom62** and **bellapaige88** who have reviewed every single chapter of this fic. (bella: I really appreciate that you take your time reviewing this 'cause I know that you're busy with your own fics and your real life)_

_But you came for the fic, not my kilometers long author's note so go on then...:)_

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><p><strong>Lights ch. 8 - And so I tell myself that I'll be strong<strong>

They ended up driving to Felicity's house. They walked the steps up to her front door hand in hand, smiling like a couple of idiots. Felicity unlocked the door and they made their way inside. While Felicity tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter and took her coat off, Oliver leant on the wall, watching her every move.

Felicity walked to Oliver, took his hand in hers and without saying a word she led them to her bedroom. There she went to her wardrobe, searched for a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and when she found them, she took them with her to the bathroom to change in them. After brushing her teeth quickly and changing into the other clothes, she came back to her bedroom where she found Oliver standing right where she left him. Sighing, she sat down on her bed and took of her shoes, glancing up to Oliver once she was done with the task. "I want you in my bed. _Now_. I just want to be held tonight and wake up next to you tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Oliver was silent but nodded and sat down on the edge of her bed. While he took off his shoes, Felicity climbed on the other side of the bed and snuggled under the warm and very comfy blanket.

She unashamedly admired Oliver's abs when he took his shirt off. He threw a knowing look her way and got under the blanket, taking her in his arms right away.

"You're warm… but not a great pillow. What's your chest even made of? Rocks?" she muttered but still snuggled closer to him. Oliver hid his smirk in her hair, kissing the crown of her head.

"Sleep, Felicity. I'll be here when you wake up."

And as he had promised, he was there in the morning, petting her hair.

"Good morning", he smiled down at her when she finally opened her eyes.

"G'morning. What time is it?" she yawned and stretched like a cat, trying to shake off what was still left of her wonderful dream.

"It's seven. You have lots of time to get ready for work. If you jump into the shower and get ready, I'll whip up something for us to eat before you have to go and deal with whatever the CEO of a big company has to deal with."

He paused for long enough for Felicity ask: "Coffee?"

"Yes, there will be coffee, too. I still don't have that big of a death wish to not have any of the miracle drink on the table for you."

"Thank you." She started to climb out of the bed but before her feet touched the floor she bend down and kissed Oliver on his lips, not caring if they both had a morning breath.

"Go and make me coffee", she demanded with a teasing note on her voice before skipping to the bathroom.

"You will be the death of me one day, Felicity Meghan Smoak. Just mark my words!" he shouted after her, a teasing note of his own audible in his voice.

With a large grin on his face he went to start the coffee that Felicity desperately needed and to find them something edible eat.

Oliver was waiting for her in the kitchen, a mug in his hand when she walked in. He gave the mug to her right away, taking another one in his hands from the kitchen counter. They sipped their coffee in a comfortable silence, exchanging kisses before Felicity had to rush to work.

Oliver went to Verdant to help his sister with club business for the day but went back to Felicity's house right after that. He arrived a few minutes after Felicity's return home and knocked on the door.

"I do have a functioning doorbell, Oliver", she said dryly before kissing him senseless.

When they came back for much needed air, Oliver walked into her house and closed the door behind him. "I know. And hello to you too."

"So how was your day, _honey_?"

They stared at each other for a long moment and then burst out laughing out loud.

With a smile, Oliver replied to her question. "It actually went pretty well. I helped Thea at the club while you were at the office. But my day's not the one that was interesting… tell me how your day has been so far?"

"Ugh, can we please_ not_ talk about this right now? I mean, it wasn't awful but I'd just love to enjoy this last evening of Hanukkah with you and not worry about CEOing." Felicity whined and lowered her forehead to rest it on his shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure that CEOing isn't an actual word but okay, we'll talk about it later. Now, come on. It's time to light all the Hanukkah candles."

Their hands were still linked together so they had to unlink them so that Felicity could use both of her hands. Oliver moved to stand behind her, circling her waist and leaning his chin on her shoulder again. After lighting the shamash Felicity recited the blessings Oliver had become to know by his heart and began lighting the candles from far left to the far right, one by one. Once all the candles were lit, they watched as the light coming from the candles played in the dark, pushing the shadows further away.

"Felicity. Promise me something?" Oliver whispered.

"Anything."

"Don't let darkness get me anymore. I know that Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and I got thinking and realized something. You've become my light in more than one sense and I don't know what I'd do without you. You are this… shining light in the middle of darkness when I think I'm alone. You're always there when I need you and even if I don't, you still call me home." Oliver whispered, his words muffled by her shoulder.

"I'll never leave you if it depends on my own will, you have to know that, Oliver." Felicity reassured him before asking him. "Can you do something for me?"

"Well, if it's you asking… I'll do it."

"Don't leave me. No matter what. I've had enough people walking out of my life already and honestly, I couldn't handle you leaving me again. You _died_, Oliver, and I thought that that was it, that I'll never see you again in this life, and then you came back and I just…"

Oliver tightened his arms her and whispered. "Shhh, Felicity. I'm here and I'm okay and I will fight until my very last breath to stay with you." He kissed her again on the top of her head and waited for her to calm down.

"We're gonna be okay and we are going to live a long life - together. There's no other way I would have."

He felt her nod her head and then lean her whole body into his embrace.

"So together until the last breath?"

"Together until the last breath", Oliver confirmed.

Then they lapsed back to the serene silence, content to be there together.

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><p>On the roof of the house opposite Felicity's, two people clad in black from head to toe watched the scene unfold. When they realized that the two people standing in the window were done with their conversation, the shorter half of the pair said quietly: "You think we will get a chance to see them again?"<p>

"I don't know. But I'm happy that he found his light", the other answered just as quietly.

"And his happiness."

The taller one, coughed a sound that reminded a laugh. "That too… He deserves to have happiness in his life."

"And she deserves to not be denied."

"Yeah… But we've already stayed too long, we gotta leave, Sara."

After glancing back at the happy couple one last time, Sara Lance followed Tommy Merlyn back into the shadows.

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><p><em>Thank you for reading this story! I have a fic coming up, stay tuned. If you are on tumblr, I'm accepting prompts there, so you can drop one in my ask box. :)<em>


	9. Epilogue - Calling me home

Summary:_ On Christmas morning Felicity surprises Oliver with a different kind of Christmas present._

AN: _Hi everyone! So I kinda cheated and wrote another chapter... After this one, the story's done... for this year at least._

_This is a Christmas present to you guys (if you celebrate Christmas, that is. If you don't, it's fine.) even if I am posting this pretty late, as usual. (But it's still Christmas somewhere, right?)_

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><p><strong>Lights epilogue - Calling me home<strong>

On Christmas morning Felicity woke up first, surprising both of them. She lay there, waiting for Oliver to wake up.

As if he had heard her thoughts, Oliver woke up slowly and blinked his eyes before focusing on Felicity.

"Merry Christmas", Felicity whispered and kissed him.

When they parted Oliver smiled sleepily at her. 'My boyfriend is actually pretty adorable' Felicity thought.

"I prefer 'partner'" Oliver said, a rasp in his voice clear.

"Oh frack, I said that out loud, didn't I?" Felicity moaned, facepalmed and dropped her head on her pillow with a thump.

"Yeah, but that's one of the many reasons I love you."

After a moment of silence Felicity turned her head to look at Oliver. "I love you too."

A blinding smile took over Oliver's face and Felicity swore that she would do anything to see that smile again, as many times as possible.

They ended up making out like teenagers after their declarations of love. But it definitely was more fun now compared to their teenage years. The fact that they cared for each other so deeply on emotional level made all the difference. It was fun, yes, but also comforting somehow. They had nothing to hide and no reason to hold themselves back anymore.

When they came up for air at last, they locked eyes and just stared at each other with bright smiles on both their faces. Felicity's hands stroked Oliver's neck in a soothing motion and Oliver had entwined his arms around Felicity's waist.

Felicity broke the silence after a while with a question. "What do you think of Queen Inc.?"

"Queen Inc.?" Oliver repeated, sounding and looking confused.

"Yep. Queen Inc. As in the new name of the company I'm the CEO of now? You know, one of the perks of owning most of a company is that you get to make decisions. You can do almost anything you want from making one genius IT girl your Executive Assistant even if she is overqualified to renaming said company. And that's what I'm trying to decide. The name, I mean."

"You… you want to name the company _Queen Inc._?" Oliver asked bemusedly.

"Yes, Oliver, we've already established that. It's your legacy and I want to respect your mother and father's memory even if most of the time your mother and I didn't get along and I didn't meet your father. It just feels like the right thing to do, you know, to rename the company. I'm not using the former name, I know, but I thought that keeping the Queen name someway in it was fitting."

Oliver was silent and couldn't help but stare at Felicity in wonder. "Felicity, you're remarkable."

Having a flashback to the first time he said those exact words, Felicity grinned at him widely. "Thank you for remarking on it."

"And did I already say today how much I love you?" Oliver continued, brushing his hand up and down Felicity's spine, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Yup, but it's always nice to hear, no matter how many times you say the words." Felicity told him, snuggling closer to him.

She was so close to him that she could feel his warm breath on her lips and his nose brushed hers occasionally.

"Well then, I'll just say it again", he smiled and said, "I. Love. You." After every word he kissed her: first on her forehead, then the tip of her nose and at last her lips.

When she pulled away, Felicity repeated the words she had said to him first thing when he had woken up. "Merry Christmas."

"You don't celebrate Christmas." Oliver pointed.

"No, I don't. But you do and even though we promised not to give any presents to one another, I thought that you wouldn't mind this one."

"You're right, I really don't. But I'm okay with whatever you decide to rename the company. You're the one who is in charge now. And I am so proud of you and happy for you."

Felicity proceeded to kiss him senseless.

And they spend the rest of the morning in bed, showing how much they loved each other with words and actions.

(Few months later, when Oliver came to visit Felicity at the office to take her to lunch, the name on the building wasn't '_Palmer_' anymore. It was '_Queen_.'

And let just say that seeing that got Oliver thinking if he should start thinking of proposing one brilliant IT girl that he had fallen in love with.)

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><p><em>Thank you for reading this story! I have a fic coming up, stay tuned. If you are on tumblr, I'm accepting prompts there, so you can drop one in my ask box. But if you don't have an account there, you can PM me here too. :)<em>


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